well, folks, i apologize for the delay (i know you were all languishing without me), but ellie, my faithful computer since my knee surgery four years ago, finally kicked the bucket and i was computerless until today when my shiny new replacement arrived.

there is a moment, perhaps, to talk about how material things don't last and how materialistic i am that i had to have a new one instantly. but i don't think this is that moment.

(but my new computer is very shiny - i just wanted to point that out)

speaking of things timed by my knee surgery, i rode a bike the other day for the first time in four years. mike and i decided to circle central park. granted, we weren't riding very hard, but i was impressed by my balance and strength. i guess it IS true that once you learn to ride a bike you never forget.

the other day, i saw a little girl on a bicycle with her father holding the seat and running behind her. i remembered when i learned to ride (socks on my hands in case i fell) with my dad running alongside me. he promised he wouldn't let me go, but he did. and, when i realized that he had let go, i promptly fell.

there's a lesson in there somewhere. i'm just not sure which one of us was supposed to learn it.